Athens International Airport (AIA), along with Charles de Gaulle in Paris, is among the top airports in Europe that are at risk of fraudulent transactions, according to a study by Accertify.
According to the findings of the research by the fraud prevention and digital identity solution provider, which is based on data from millions of transactions by airlines in the 2024-2025 period, a higher number of attempts at deception are made on flights connected to Eleftherios Venizelos Airport compared to other airports of similar size.
However, new data from Accertify shows that the rate of cheating in transactions with airlines has decreased in all regions of the world in the first half of 2025, with Europe recording the largest drop of 50%.
Based on an analysis of millions of airline transactions, Accertify found that global fraud rates decreased by 30% year-over-year to 0.25%, or one fraud attempt per 400 bookings.
The decline was more pronounced in Europe, where the pressure from takeoff flight scams was halved compared to the same period last year. European routes now account for just 12% of all global fraud attempts, down from 24% in the first half of 2024.
Meanwhile, in the United States, the fraud rates for domestic and international travel decreased by 38% to 1 attempt of fraud per 556 bookings (0.18%).
Analyzing the data further, the following results were obtained:
Europe: Among the major airports with at least one million bookings, the lowest attempted fraud rates were recorded at John Paul II International Airport Krakow (Poland), Bristol Airport (United Kingdom), and Guglielmo Marconi Airport Bologna (Italy).
Naples-Capodichino International Airport (Italy) recorded the largest drop (-57%), followed by EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg (-50%).
The high-risk nodes included London’s Heathrow Airport and Humberto Delgado (Portugal).
United States: Dallas Love Airport (-69%), San Diego International Airport (-68%), and Chicago Midway (-67%) recorded the largest decreases in fraud pressure on an annual basis. In contrast, Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu saw a 175% increase, while Seattle-Tacoma International Airport saw a 40% increase, approaching the US average.
Miami International Airport was ranked as the US airport with the highest risk of fraud in the first half of 2025, despite the fact that the rate of fraud decreased compared to last year.
Asia-Pacific: Total fraud pressure on departures from the Asia-Pacific region decreased by 6% year-over-year, but it remains one of the regions with relatively higher risk globally.
Among the major airports with over one million bookings, the lowest attempted fraud rates were recorded at Auckland Airport (New Zealand) and Haneda Airport (Tokyo, Japan), with Haneda seeing a 72% year-over-year decline.
The largest decreases in the region came from departures from Tokyo and Singapore (both down 27%). However, some airports showed notable increases, such as Auckland (+50%), Cairns (+230%), and Perth, Australia (+136%).
Overall, pressure from scams on departures from Australia increased by 21.4% compared to the first half of 2024. Among the smaller but significant airports, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (Malaysia) saw a 114% increase, while Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok saw a 47% increase.
“Although we’re seeing positive trends in the reduction of fraud cases in many areas, our data shows that fraudsters are extremely adaptable and are constantly evolving their tactics,” said Mark Michelon, president of Accertify. And he added: “Although the overall pressure from cases of fraud is decreasing, fraudsters are looking for new vulnerabilities and are shifting their attention to exploiting specific routes and security gaps. This makes the effective detection of fraud cases more critical than ever.”
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